Nothing Much
by RitSuYue
Summary: It's been more than fifty years since the Maikai Tournament and when it becomes time to fulfill an old promise for the now deceased Yukina, Botan revisits an old friend and realizes after seeing him that everything is still pretty much the same.


Just a one shot. Hiei might be a little OOC, but I guess it's alright because this is set in the future. There isn't much romance as I would have like to be, but I suppose it's only fitting because this discuss death of loved ones. The rating it a little high because of one of Hiei's lines. Well, I hope you enjoy.   
  
Disclaimer : I Do Not Own Yu Yu Hakusho.

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Nothing Much

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_Normal POV_

It was white. Her hands glazed over the starch white envelope, remembering the exact date it had been handed to her. A promise is what she made; to the beautiful ice maiden who pasted more than fifty years ago.

She made a vow to herself to fulfill said promise, no matter how afraid she was to do it.

It was sort of romantic how Yukina went, with her lover and mate, Kuwabara. She sighed at the thought. How wonderful it must have been to be cherished by such a devoted man. Yukina was so lucky.

Again, her attention changed to the paper in her hands. It had a slightly dry feel to it and was crinkled all over from either past years, or the abuse it was suffering now. She shook her head; blue strands of hair fell from her tresses, and stuffed the letter in her kimono sleeve to keep from ruining the thing.

It was a mission, she thought, a fair one to boot. Yukina knew Kuwabara wouldn't last forever, and in consequence knew _she _wouldn't last forever as well. That was why she trusted the ferry girl. Death couldn't succumb to death. The look in her crimson eyes would make even Enma yield to her bidding.

It was a letter. That was her task; a simple letter with one name etched out in ink, in handwriting that seemed oh too small and fragile, yet so big and important at the same time. It was a letter addressed to Hiei.

She could hardly breathe properly when the young koorime asked such a favor. To give a note to Hiei fifty years after she was taken to Reikai. Did she know the secret Hiei fought to take to his grave? Did she know her long-lost brother was alive and well, and had already been protecting throughout her entire life?

The temptation to tear the delicate envelope apart was horrible, almost too horrible to bear. But it was a promise made and a promise kept.

And the girl had been too grateful and had apologized more than once. The grim reaper thought nothing of it and swore to keep the piece of paper till it was ready to be given. Yet still, Yukina said she regretted placing such burden on her.

She asked if it would encumber her, give her a reluctant reason to live or that despite all things make her feel like she hadn't done anything at all.

To squash such thoughts from her mind hadn't been easy, neither had encouraging the girl it wasn't true. Still, the smile she received from the ice maiden had been saddening and comforting at the same time.

First of all, actually locating the fire demon in question had taken her over two years and had almost broken her promise all together. If he had, she would've throttled him.

She liked to think of herself as a ferry girl of her word and that if she ever broke such a significant oath, she would surely spiral into fit of self-loathe for many decades to come.

It turns out, he had been a recluse for many years now, known only to come out to train, do his job, and for the little, but some, nourishment. She wondered what could have brought the infamous Hiei to such an existence.

She predicted Mukuro's moving fortress to be heading north and would catch it while it was at its resting period. That way, she wouldn't have to needlessly outrun a giant, ten-speed bug.

The ginger haired female had been surprised to see her, but invited her into her stronghold with much hospitality. The mechanical woman also threatened anyone audacious enough to pull anything on the visitor.

"Thank you Mukuro-san. I am much obliged." She bowed politely to the woman, knowing she could've thrown her out if she pleased.

"There is no need for gratitude." The ferry girl noticed she talked a bit like Hiei. "Just try not to rile him up; I don't want to fix anything he breaks." She left, leaving her to her business. The Reikai assistant mildly wondered why Mukuro hadn't asked her reason for being there.

She exhaled loudly, and before her hand could make contact with the door, a raspy voice was heard.

"Come in." She was aware how tired he sounded, and silently pushed the door open. It was heavy, almost too heavy. She had to throw her entire weight against it for it to budge even an inch.

She was more than embarrassed that it took her more than a few minutes to creak the entrance wide enough for her to slip in. When she was finally able to get inside, she was tired and out of breath.

"If I had known it would have taken you so long to open a door, I would have done it myself." She looked up at the speaker sitting in to cushioned chair parallel to the fireplace.

"Good evening," She released a breath at the figure she saw. The languid being slumped in the chair not too far from her, wasn't the proud, always-alert fire demon she knew. "Hiei."

"Hn." He turned his head to look at the empty chair across from the small mahogany table in front of him. It looked as if it were arranged for her coming. "Sit."

She responded to his order, and placed herself in the available seat. She couldn't think of what to say. Even as teammates, they weren't very close, what's the difference now?

"What do you what?" It was a quiet tone he used that sounded more drained than anything.

The answer suddenly clicked; the difference was that they were closer than they ever needed to be.

Wordlessly, she retrieved her reason for being in that room and slid it across the table. He stared at it blankly, waiting for her to voice what it was.

"Yukina," He stiffened at the name, "wanted me to give this to you." He growled.

"Impossible; _she_ has long gone to another world." She dropped her gaze to the fireplace, the dancing flames catching her wandering eyes.

"She… wrote this fifty years ago." She felt his angry stare upon her. "It was her will for me keep it until this day."

"…" He seemed to cool down, though not completely satisfied with her answer, and slowly picked it up, perhaps as curious as the ferry woman was. He examined it for a second with blank eyes, but his thumb caressed the material in fondness. The fondness, she realized that he shared with his deceased sister.

It was saddening to see it, a twin who had lost its sibling. She could feel the water burning the back her eyes. Together they had been, since the time they shared a womb, and now one had gone, just like that. It made her wonder if Yukina had been just a little selfish.

He ripped the letter open carefully, yet slowly, making her writhe in anticipation. Sometimes she had nightmares about this day; that she wasn't able to deliver it in time or that Hiei pasted before she could hand it to him. But now that it lay in his hands, the eyes shared by the brother and sister reading each word carefully removed that fear and replaced it with a new one.

Would he be furious she hid it for so many years? Or would he be content knowing that Yukina had been happy during her lifetime? She had so many things to ask, but…

He placed the paper over his eyes; he was done reading. She froze, her hands gripped at her knees nervously. He didn't move for a few minutes, causing her breath to be caught in her lungs uncomfortably.

Suddenly, he laughed. It was throaty, hoarse laugh that was deprived of any mirth, and filled with utter wretchedness.

"I've kept my vow." He said with an empty smile on his face. "She never knew who I was." She was quiet and didn't even notice the tears streaming down her face.

"… Was that what you wanted…?" His smile disintegrated and his shoulders shook.

"Are you crying…? Hn, baka onna…" His hands dropped to his sides, but his face remained aimed at the ceiling, holding the paper over his eyes.

She gingerly touched the moisture on her cheeks. "Isn't it the proper moment to cry?"

"I wouldn't know." He emotionlessly replied, still in that same position. He fisted his hands like he wanted to hit something, but remained otherwise immobile. "A cold bastard like me wouldn't know."

"Hiei…"

"Just go back to Reikai and leave me alone." He sighed, the paper blown off by his breath. It fell dangerously close to the fire, but before any flames could greedily devour it, the blue haired woman snatched it up. She stood up impudently, her eyes burning with an unknown rage that triggered somewhere along the lines of his insensitive attitude, clutching the letter to her chest.

"This isn't something you can just forget." She grasped the paper tightly, holding onto it like she had been for many years. "_This,"_ She shoved it in front of her for a mere moment for him to clearly see, "is your sister's will. She wanted you, without knowing what relation you held to her, to be last to here some of her thoughts!

You should be honored and respectful! Instead you don't even care. She was your sister, your imouto (1), your _twin. _You have a bond with her, whether or not she's alive! And that isn't something you can just forget Hiei!" She tried to swipe some water off her face, using her left hand to wipe her tear filled eyes and her right hand to still grip onto the note with the protectiveness she had gained for it.

He only stared at her, the same woman he gazed at over fifty years ago. "… Botan… Nothing much has changed." She seemed to snap out of her distress.

"W-what?" He looked away quickly, at the fire that almost burned one of the only remaining aspects of his beloved sister.

"…" He stayed silent for a moment before hesitantly continuing, "She said she was glad to have met me." He gained a confused glance. "She said that she was thankful I tried to look for her brother, even though I couldn't find him in the end." He sighed and brought himself to gaze into the swirls of amethyst that reminded him of past years.

"_Yukina_ said that I was the closest thing to family she had ever felt." He chuckled. "Do you think she knew? Do you know who told her… and would you allow me to slice their throat?"

She giggled, though it wasn't the sort of answer she was expecting, but it would do.

"I'm glad I can finally see the fire demon I respected so many years ago." She slightly jerked when she something akin to marble hit the ground. Slowly, she stepped closer to the chair hosting the koorime and stooped down to retrieve a black pearl from the hardwood floor.

When she looked up at the youki, he stared back at her, waiting to see what she'd do next. She surprised them both by smiling. "What a beautiful jewel…" Her thumb stroked it as it lay cupped in her palm, "I wonder if Yukina would like it."

Perhaps he was embarrassed, because he buried his face in his scarf and turned slightly away from her.

She blinked at this; it was unusual for her to see such a sight. She could feel the continuation of their relationship and began to wonder when it would be a good time for her to revisit.

"… I guess nothing much has changed."

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(1) Imouto - 'little sister'

I hope it wasn't too long. Please leave a review. Oh, and happy holidays.


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